Cloth-inspecting machine



Jam 112 9 192% N. T. THOMAS CLD'IH INSPECTING MACHINE s Shets-$heet 1Filed Oqt. 15, 1923 Jan. 12 .4 1926.

N. T. THQMAS CLOTH INSPEGTING mourns Filed Oct. 15, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet2 m n M n a 1 il xliiiiFL ll| llllllL N. T. THOMAS CLOTH msrnc'rme mommaFiled 001:. 15, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 //VVE/VTUR.' 77 A 252W,

Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

- UNITED: STA-res HAMPSHIRE. I

eArsNiT osrlca. j

NORMAN '1. THOMAS; oii NASHUA, new HAMPSHIRE, Assienon To NASVHUA MANU-I V FACTURING COMPANY, OF NASI'IUAj NEW HAMISHIBE,

VCLOTI-I-IVNSPECTVING MACHINE.

Appl'ication filed October 15, 1923. Serial 1T0. 668,510. r

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN T. THOMAS,

a citizen of the United States,residing at Nashua, in the county ofHillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certainnew anduseful Improvements inOloth- Inspecting Machines, of Which the followingis a specification.

After the manufacturing operations on cloth have been substantiallycompleted,vit

is customary to inspect the fabric for flaws and imperfections. Thepresentinvention relates to apparatus used in performing this inspectingoperation, and it hasfor its chief object to improve such apparatus witha view especially to improving the accuracy 'of inspection, reducing'the labor nvolved, and simplifylng the introduction of a new..

web of cloth into the apparatus in readi ness for the inspectingoperation.

the forms of cloth" inspection apparatus now in common use, theoperation of initially threading in a new web of cloth in readiness forinspection is verydifiicult. It is the custom,therefore, to perform thisthreading-in operation by fastening" the trailing end of the Web whichis just running out to the end of. the" new web, and

I appended claims thus use the motion" of the web' already the apparatusto draw in the new webl The fact, h owever, that the introduction of theweb, unless performed in this particularmanner, is very difficult;"causes an 'inspec tortov watch the roll of cloth from which' the web isbeing drawn verycarefully asthe end is approached to make sure'th at theend'will'not run out before shecan piece'on the end of a new web. "Thistakes her attention from the clOthQwith the'result that the inspection.t becomes lnaoouratez The An especially importantgfeature of theinvention resides in a" novel arrangementfor supporting websiof cloth inreadiness for delivery to the 'm-achine ;and in the ar-' rangement foreffecting 'such delivery.

The nature of the invention will be readi; ly understood fromthefollowing descrip' tion when readin connection with 'the-accolnpanyingdrawings, and the novel fea-' tures will be particularly pointedout inthe Referring now to thedrawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view'of. part of: a cloth lnspeictlngapparatus constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig: 2 is a plan view partly in cross seca part of the apparatus; and 7Fig. 4 1s a diagrammatic View of the driving roll and adjacent parts.

aoonroaa'rron or new The apparatus shown-comprises an inspeo,

tion stand which includes frame pieces 2 and 3 and an inclined board 4supported by said frame pieces. A web of c'lothO to he i inspected inunwound from a supply roll t) which is supported in a cradle 6 mountedimmediately below. theboard 4. This Web of clothpasses directly from thesupply .roll 5 to a guide roll 7 i at the lower edge of the boards,thence over the board and between a driving roll 8 and a weighting roll'9 to a guide roll 10, Fig. 3, The web-is rolled up again at 12 on theusual tube or pipe core which rotates on a shell roll 14.

The driving mechanism for the rolls 8' and 14 may be exactly like thatemployed in the cloth inspecting machines at present in common "use.

directly to. some convenient source is-"indicated at 16 in Fig.4, issplinedto the rollTshaft-and is slidable to connect or dis-j.

connect'the shaft with the pulley, this clutch being under the controlof'a treadle 17 (Figs.

mally out, or to disconnect it from the pulley, so that the inspectormust hold the treadle 17 depressed in order-to keep the cloth feedingover the stand, As soon as The shaft of the roll 8 carries a loosepulley 15','Fig.' 4, which is belted fof powen 1 A} clutch, one memberof which the treadle'is' released, the rotation of the roll 8 isstopped, and'consequently the cloth feeding movement is stopped- Anothermechanism which need not be described here, is provided to drive theroll 8 in a reverse direction'toe ffect aba'ckward feed of the cloth,this mechanism being un- "der the control of the treadle land 2). .7 r qr 'The shaft of the shell-roll 14: carries a pulley l9whioh is driven bya belt 20 from I tread le 17] push the 21 fast on the sha ft of the"near the front of the platform. Two rails 27-27 connected at their endsby pieces '2828 are mounted to slide l st underthe top ot the platform,therails being support-' ed on strips, one otwhieh is shoyyn at;29 (Fin1), so thatthey n ay be moved torwardintothe dotr l line position sho-wnin Fig; with the front cross piece28 resting; on the topn'iostroll otthe cradle 6. In. this position they bridge the space between theplatform and the cradle sothat itis a very easvniatter tor the inspectorthen to ront roll 525 over thef stop 26, after which it will roll bygravity on therails 27 37: into the cradle 6. hen this transferoii'fidelivery of a new roll to the cradle has been completed; theinspector slides the rails 27- 27 baclquiider the plati n where they areout oiflthe way. A holeS'ZfFi'g, 2, is out in the topo tthe platformnear its forward edge to atiord convenient access to the frontcrosspiece 28. i i j i A chair or seat 30 is provided for the inspecter, and supported onfa bracket 31 which is pivoted at 32 on avertical stand or base 33,sothat the seat can be swung from its normalposition in front of the inspecting stand into an inoperative position,as" shown in dotted lines in Fig.2, at onej sideot the path of deliveryof the rolls In sonic machines considerable pressure must be exerted onthe treadle 17 in starting the machine into operation, and in order toenable theinspecwr to exert the desired pressure more easily andco1nt'ortabl-y,air arm 34: (Fig. 1) is secured to the seat30, and isbent doii'nwardlyso that when the seat is pushed back away ttroin thetable, this bracket will enp'age the front of the plattorn, A and act asa stop; This 'arraiigemerit enables the inspector to brace ap'aiiist theback of the chair as shedcpresse's the The seat also is adjustable"verally to the requirements of different inspceto-rsJ For this purposethe seat is mounted on a screwfifi which is threadedin a hole formed inthe outer end of the bracket 31, and a set screw 36 is provided to lockthe screw 35 in its adjustedposition.

After the inspection of a web of cloth hasibcen completed, and the cadetthe web appears on the board l, the inspector transiers a new roll-tothe cradle 6 as above described, then pulls tlie end of thejwcb of clothfrom this roll up on the table and pins it to the trailing endotthe web"which is just running out. This operation canbe performed veryconveniently and with a minimum of veffort, for, the reason that no r rv ,l threading-in of the endus, required, it being simply necessarytopick 'upthegend ot the web on the roll in the cradle' and pull it overthe guiderolh'? and lay it on the table t. The inspector neat depressesthe treadle 17 vto start, the feecli-ngtoi the web, so that the new endwillbe carried through the rolls and 9 into position to be wound on atube or: pipe 12 which, will be placed by an'atten'dant inithe properipo'sition Yon t lielshell roll:

'i'ers a new roll to the cradlein Etheina-nnerX above described.Thisapparatus, therefore,

results in a inorecaret'uli andj'accurate in- SPGOtlOlLOf the cloth,andltzehnnnatesltliei diiiiculty. in threading-in which? has been ex-:perienced in apparatus of; this type heretofore used. a

The fact; that a one; or more sparerrolls of cloth are always'von. theplatform ready to be delivered to the cradle, and the ease, with whichthis delivery is effected are important factors in eliminatingxdelay inchanging rolls, anduhence increase the; output. or the machineQ' T r i iIt will also be appreciatedlthat,while; I have, herein shownandidescribed the best embodiment of my invention 1 that a I have sofar. devised, the inventioni 'niay be embodied in many other: formswithout departing from the spirit. or scopeithereof. Eorexaniple, theplatform and'cradleinay be replaced by equivalent pieces oflapparatusperforming essentially the same functions butzdiitering in minordetails, and these terms areintended to include equivalent structures.

Having thus des'cribed my invention, what i I desire to. claim as newis:

1:111 a cloth inspection apparatus, the combination offan inspectingstand, l l'lQ-l l itr nisin forifeeding awebof cloth overt said stand, acradle forisupportingia roll of cloth froniIwhichisaid-web is. unwounddna posi+ tion uunder said stand, a platform in front of said standrforsupporting aplurality of saidrolls, rails forsupporting said rolls fordelivery from, said platform torso-id, cradle, a seat normallypositioned infront, of said stand, and means at one side of; the pathotdelivery of saidrolls for; supporting said seat. i i

2. In a cloth inspection apparatus, the

combination of an inspecting stand, mecha nism for feeding a web ofcloth over said stand, a cradle'for supporting a roll of cloth fromwhich said web is unwound in a position under said stand, means in frontof said stand for supporting a roll in readiness for delivery to saidcradle, a seat normally positioned in front of said stand, a bracketsupporting said seat, and a pivotal support for said bracket at one sideof the path of delivery of said roll,'whereby said seat may be swunginto and out of its operative position.

3. In a cloth inspection apparatus, the combination of an inspectingstand, mechanism for feeding a web ofcloth over said stand, a cradle forsupporting a rollof cloth from which said web is unwound in a positionunder said stand, a platform in front of said stand for supporting aplurality of said rolls, rails forsupportingsaid rolls for delivery fromsaid platform to s-aid cradle, a seat normally positioned in frontofsaid stand, a bracket pivotally mounted at one side of the path ofdelivery of said rolls and supporting said seat for swinging movementinto and out of its normal position, and

a rigid arm movable with said seat and posistand,a cradle for supportinga roll of cloth from which said web is unwound, a platform in front ofsaid stand for supporting a plurality. of said rolls in readiness fordelivery to said cradle, and rails movable into i o 1 and outofoperative position for supporting said rolls for delivery from saidplatform to said cradle.

' i 5. In a cloth inspection apparatus, the combination of an inspectingstand, mechanism for feedmg a web of cloth over said in front of saidstand for supporting a plurality ofsa'id rolls, rails forsupporting saidrolls for delivery fromsaid platform to said cradle, means forsupporting said railsunposition to bridge the space between saidplatform and said cradle, a seat'normally positioned in front of saidstand, and means at one side of the pathofdelivery of said rolls forsupporting said seat.

de'r said platform for sliding movement into 6, In a cloth inspectionapparatus, the, combination of an inspecting stand, mech'a-- nism forfeeding a web of cloth over said stand, a cradle for supporting a rollof cloth from which said web is unwound ina posi- .tion under saidstand, means in front of said stand for supporting a roll in readiness Vfor delivery to said cradle, a seat normally positioned in front of saidstand, and means at one side of the path-of delivery of said roll forsupporting said seat.

NORMAN T. THOMAS.

45 stand, a cradle for supporting a roll of cloth from which said web isunwound, a platform a

